Racing Romeo
by TRikiD
Summary: When Darington's older sister Rain comes to visit the city for his birthday, Blaze unbelievably falls in love with her, but he's not the only one. Crusher also falls head over wheels for the beautiful Rain, and it's a battlefield of love between the two boys for the girl they love. Who will win her heart?
1. Chapter 1 - Odd First Impressions

Racing Romeo

Chapter 1 - Odd First Impressions

In Axle City, Blaze the monster Machine was well-known for being a great racer and quite the hero, but Blaze was always so humble, so he honestly doesn't like it much when others prolong his title of 'hero'; it never bothers him when he actually DOES save someone, but to keep being referred to as 'hero' WAY AFTER his good deeds just never sits right with his good moral.

But Blaze would never put himself before others, especially when they're in need, and today was a perfect example.

Blaze and AJ was on his way to the dare devil stunt tracks in the park that Darington always liked to practice stunts on, and Darington told him to meet up there because he said he had a special announcement. And soon enough, Blaze and AJ drove up to meet Darington, along with his other friends Starla, Zeg and Gabby.

"Dude, what took you so long? I can barely hold the surprises in any longer!" Darington pointed out in a whine.

"Surprises? You mean there's more than one?" AJ asked while hopping out of Blaze's driver seat.

"You bet'cha! First set of good news is—this Friday is my birthday!" Darington cheered.

"Oh, well, Happy Early Birthday, Ya'll!" Starla added with a smile.

"What other surprise! Oh, please tell Zeg! Please!" Zeg begged while pounding his front wheels on the ground and even made everyone jump.

"Alright, alright! Calm down, big fella! Now, the second coolest news is—MY BIG SISTER IS COMING TO VISIT!"

Everyone gasped at that.

"Y-you have a sister?" Gabby asked the question on everyone's mind, and they all shared the same amount of shock.

"Sure do!"

"How come we've never seen her before?" AJ questioned.

"She lives far out from Axle City, but she promised to come for a visit to see her favorite little brother!" Darington replied with a grin.

"Yeah, right! You're my ONLY little brother!" called a feminine voice.

Everyone turned and smiled when they saw who was most likely Darington's older sister driving up to them. She was a truck shaped much like Darington, she had dark blue paint with a lighter blue water drop painted on each side, she had water wave-shaped patterns on her wheels, and she had sparkling amber eyes.

"Everyone, this is my big sister, Rain! Rain, these are my friends, AJ, Gabby, Zeg, Starla and Blaze!" Darington said happily while introducing his friends, but the second his tire landed on Blaze, he and his sister were confused when they saw how…spaced out Blaze's gaze looked, as he laid eyes on Rain.

 _There's something about her that just…puts butterflies in my stomach,_ Blaze thought to himself since he was too embarrassed to say it out loud in front of his friends.

"Blaze?" Darington urged, but got no response from the monster truck, so he raised his voice.

"BLAZE!"

"Huh, what?!" Blaze asked as he was startled by Darington's shouting, and he finally snapped out of his trance.

"Are you ok? You seemed a little off, um…Blaze, was it?" Rain asked with concern while driving up to Blaze and gently pressing a front wheel up to him for a reassurance, but the second she touched him, it's like he suddenly just lost every bit of confidence.

"U-um, y-y-yeah, I just…I-I…" Blaze stammered out of control while smiling a goofy smile, making Rain giggle, but that just created an even bigger lump in Blaze's throat that was pretty difficult to swallow.

"Are you sure you're ok, Blaze? You're acting really strange," AJ added with worry, and even placed a hand on Blaze's hood, but he gasped when he felt the metal.

"Blaze, you're burning up!"

"R-really?! I-I haven't noticed!" Blaze said while trying to avoid eye contact with Aquarius, and he quickly came up with a plan to get out of there.

"Oh, no! I think I hear my laundry calling! Sorry! Gotta blaze!"

With that, Blaze was off, and it was the fastest his friends have EVER seen him drive off, and this concerned AJ the most since he and Blaze were close pals.

"He's hiding something," AJ muttered under his breath while staring in the direction Blaze drove off.

"What's flattened his tires?" Starla asked with shock.

"I don't know. But what I DO know is that my birthday is just around the corner, so let's get ta party plannin'! C'mon, guys!" Darington pointed out with a smile, and his friends reluctantly drove off after him since they were still worried about Blaze.

But Rain stopped when she noticed that AJ never moved.

"Does he usually act like that?" Rain asked softly.

"Not that I've ever seen, and it worries me," AJ sighed, "we're best friends, and we always tell each other if something's wrong."

"Well, I'm sure he'll come around; it's like you said, you're best friends," Rain reassured, and AJ smiled at her.

"So, would you like a ride to catch up with the others?" Rain soon asked and opened her driver's side door to AJ.

"I sure would! Thanks, Rain!" AJ said with a smile while hopping into Rain's driver seat, and she soon shut the door and drove off.

"No problem! It's AJ, right?"

"That's me!"

But little did the others know that Blaze never actually left; he merely tricked them and actually hid behind one of the ramps in the park, and he could hear the entire conversation. But with the others gone, Blaze felt relieved enough to come out of hiding and process everything.

 _What just came over me? I've never felt like that before…and why does Rain make me feel this way?_ Blaze thought to himself, _oh, but I DID act pretty silly in front of her…I should apologize._

With that thought on his mind, Blaze drove off after his friends, in hopes that he would find Rain to apologize for his behavior.

Meanwhile, Darrington wanted his birthday party to be held at the big racing stadium, so he and the others were still speeding for the stadium, and when they drove inside the large building, where they saw Pickle cheering on Crusher as he raced against Stripes. But of course, Crusher, being the dirty cheater he is, bumped Stripes off the tracks just a few yards from the finish line, and Crusher's cheating got him in first place; luckily though, Stripes wasn't injured.

"Ya'll 'right there, Stripes?" Starla asked with concern when she and the others surrounded the tiger-like truck, who was now upside down.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little…topsy-turvy," Stripes replied with a chuckle, and Zeg soon helped him back on his wheels.

"Whoo! I won again!" Crusher cheered, but everyone only rolled their eyes…except for Pickle.

"You sure did, Crusher," Pickle added happily.

"Did you see me winning, Pickle? It was awesome!"

"Yes, I did see you win, and yes, it was definitely awesome."

"No, you didn't win!"

"Excuse me?!" Crusher asked angrily, not recognizing the voice of whoever protested. But when he turned to look for the owner of the voice, he gasped at the sight before him.

It was none other than Rain, but Crusher had never seen a more beautiful truck than her; he had even more butterflies fluttering in his stomach than Blaze did! All he could do was sit there and stare at her with a dopey smile.

"You cheated; therefore, you didn't win fair and square," Rain repeated firmly, and then pointed a wheel towards Stripes, "HE'S the real winner, if you ask me."

"Oh, yes, well, um…" Crusher suddenly shouted when he finally got his thoughts back together and then cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that."

Now, anyone who knows Crusher knows he's always a sore loser, he only wants to win, and he would NEVER apologies for cheating; even Pickle was surprised for his sudden change in behavior.

"Thank you for being reasonable," Rain added calmly and smiled, "I'm Rain. What's your name?"

"O-oh, I-I'm…C-C-Crush-sh-sher," Crusher stammered nervously.

"Are you cold, Crusher? You seem to be shivering," Pickle suddenly pointed out with concern.

"What?! No, I'm not cold! I'm just…I…c'mon, Pickle!" Crusher quickly replied while rambling, but then he suddenly sped off and latched the hook his cable to one of Pickle's back wheels and pulled him along without warning.

…

"Why is everyone acting so weird today?" Darington soon spoke the question on everyone's mind.

"Rain!"

The sudden voice of Blaze surprised everyone, especially when they saw the said red truck drive into the stadium at high speeds. And because he drove in so quickly, he couldn't stop in time, so the others had to move out of the way. But as Blaze immediately put on his brakes, he was still skidding uncontrollably…and he was skidding right for Rain.

But Rain was too shocked to move in time, so just when Blaze came to a slow halt, their faces ended up just mere inches away and their front tires lightly touched.

Blaze and Rain could only stand there and stare at each other in embarrassment, and matters only got worse when everyone else looked at them in silent confusion.

"U-um…h-hi, Rain," Blaze stammered and smiled sheepishly; his blush would have been visible if it weren't for his red paint.

"H-hey, Blaze…um…what brings you here?" Rain asked softly while Blaze slowly backed up.

"Oh, right, that…well, I…I-I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"Well, for…for acting pretty silly in front of you…I-I didn't make a very good first impression, so…let's start over. Hi, my name is Blaze."

With that, Blaze smiled sincerely and held out his tire for Rain to take.

"Aw, I didn't think you looked silly…but thank you anyway," Rain chuckled and tried not blush, and she took Blaze's into hers and shook it.

"Great! So, now that that's settled, party planning, anyone?" Darington suddenly cut in happily, and everyone started helping on decorating the stadium.

But AJ stayed behind for a moment when he noticed how Blaze just stood there, staring lovingly out into space.

"Are you feeling ok now, Blaze?"

"Wha…oh, yeah…yeah, I'm ok now. Thank you, AJ," Blaze replied once he was snapped out of his wandering thoughts.

"No problem, Blaze. Want some help with decorating?"

"I sure would!"

* * *

 **What can I say? I like some kids' shows, and I'm a sap for sappy love stories. Don't judge me:P**

 **Anyway, this story is inspired off of Roadside Romeo, but I own nothing. I hope to be updating this soon, and I also hope you guys will enjoy reading it!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Crusher's Got A Crush

Chapter 2 - Crusher's Got A Crush

While everyone else was busy at decorating the stadium, Rain thought she'd surprise her brother with the cake she ordered before arriving in the city. Though Rain had yet to meet the baker, let alone everyone else in the city, she was pretty excited to get to the bakery, but as the blue truck made her way around the last corner and had the bakery in her sights just a few yards straight ahead…she was stopped by a familiar truck.

"Hey there, Rain! Where ya goin'?"

"Oh, hey, Crusher! I was just headed to the bakery to pick up the cake I ordered for Darington's birthday," Rain greeted happily when the said dark blue truck quickly drove up to her, and Pickle followed close behind.

"Oh yeah, his birthday is the day after tomorrow, I forgot," Crusher pondered aloud.

"Are you guys going to the party?" Rain asked the two trucks with hope.

"I don't think so. Crusher doesn't want to go because of his new crush on-OMF!" Pickle began rambling, until Crusher suddenly shoved a tire over his mouth and started blushing.

"What was that?"

"NOTHING!" Crusher snapped, and glared at Pickle, giving him the sign to be quiet, "of course we're going to the party. Besides, who else will show you around the city?"

"Oh, I don't think so, Crusher. I can show myself around the city, but thanks for the offer, anyway," Rain replied with guilt, and she failed to notice the look of disappointment on Crusher's face.

But Pickle wasn't going to give up yet.

"Want some help with the cake? Crusher would LOVE to help you," Pickle added with a smirk, but Crusher only panicked inside and blushed even more, causing his blue paint to slightly turn purple.

"I suppose it's the least I could let you do for wanting to be a gentleman. Sure, you can help me with the cake," Rain said and sped up towards the bakery, and she didn't notice Crusher's blush, lucky for him.

"What was that?" Crusher hissed at Pickle once Rain was far away enough.

"I was just trying to help you get closer to Rain," Pickle whispered back.

"I don't need help! I was handling it just fine, thank you!"

"That's not what that blush says."

Crusher followed where Pickle's tire was pointing, and he looked down and finally discovered the red-purple blush on his hood, making him shake his head rapidly.

"Don't get any ideas, Pickle! I don't like her like that, so stop meddling!" Crusher whisper-shouted and quickly turned back around to follow Rain.

"Young love," Pickle sighed while rolling his eyes, and he soon headed for the bakery too.

Soon, the three trucks arrived at the bakery, and the sweet smell of baked goods immediately hit their noses once they entered the building.

"Wow, it smells amazing in here! Does it always smell like this?" Rain asked after taking a few whiffs.

"Yes, it does! And believe me, it gets tempting!" a voice called from an old white truck who pulled out from behind two doors in the back, and he smiled when he noticed Rain, "hello there, Miss. I'm the baker, Clyde, but I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

"I'm Rain, and yes, I just got here. It's nice to meet you, Clyde," Rain said with a smile, and held out a greeting tire, in which Clyde soon took.

"So you're Rain, huh? You must be the one who ordered a cake for Darington's birthday."

"That's me! Is it ready yet?"

"Come to the back and see."

With that, they followed the baker into the back doors he originally came out of, and Rain smiled and gasped at the large room, but she was a it surprised when she found many robots running around and whirring loudly.

"What are these things? They're adorable!" Rain chuckled.

"They're my Baker Bots. They make every single baked good here. Here, try a cupcake!" Clyde explained while taking a freshly baked and frosted cupcake from a Baker Bot, and he handed it to Rain.

When Rain took a bite of the cupcake, she couldn't believe how delicious it was, and she suddenly shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"Wow, it's amazing!" Rain cheered with a full mouth, and she then giggled and blushed from realizing her mouth was still full.

"I'm glad you think so! And your cake should be done right about…now!" Clyde announced, and that's when the largest Baker Bot suddenly made a loud ding; its door opened, and out popped a cake that was even bigger than Pickle, and it had three layers covered in blue and white frosting and decorated with bright yellow stars.

"Oh, it's perfect! Thank you, Clyde!" Rain squealed and surprised the white truck with a hug.

"Aw, you're very welcome, Young Lady," Clyde chuckled with a blush, and Crusher gaped at that.

"Man, I wish Rain would give me hugs like that," Crusher mumbled under his breath, but then he smiled with an idea, "I-I could still pull that back to the stadium for you, Rain."

"Oh, I don't know, Crusher. It's a big cake, and I don't want to be a burden," Rain replied shyly.

"Burden? No! I could pull a cake ten times bigger than this one!" Crusher protested while getting cocky.

"Well, in that case, thank you again, Crusher," Rain giggled.

"I'll be right back to get the wagon," Clyde informed before driving off, leaving Crusher and Rain in an awkward…but not if Pickle had anything to say about that.

"So, Rain, why are you going to the party?"

"Darington is my little brother. Why wouldn't I go?"

"Any other reason?"

"Well…" Rain began, but she paused and started to blush.

"Well, what?" Crusher urged.

"No, no…I haven't even decided if I'm going to do it yet…"

"Do what?"

"Well, I…I WAS going to sing a song…but I don't even know WHAT to sing," Rain replied shyly.

"Well…what if I help you?" Crusher asked after he gathered up enough courage.

"Oh, no, Crusher, I couldn't possibly ask you to do that, especially since you've offered me so much already. Besides, it's my decision if I'll even perform in the first place."

"Well, ok, Rain—but you should know that Crusher is a GREAT singer." Crusher immediately blushed when Pickle butted in again, but Rain only smiled brightly.

"Really? You can sing, Crusher?"

"W-well, I-I wouldn't say that…'sing' is a bit of a strong word, anyway…I-I'd say 'croon', maybe 'warble'…"

"Alright, here you go, Miss Rain! The cake's all loaded!" Clyde suddenly called and pointed a tire at the large four-wheel wood wagon that Darington's birthday cake was safely loaded onto.

Soon, Crusher connected his tow cable to the wagon, and Rain thanked Clyde once again before they left for the stadium. But after a while of awkward silence driving, Rain was thinking deeply.

"H-hey, Crusher, if you really are a good singer, then…w-would you like to perform with me?"

"W-what? …Y-you would want ME to sing with YOU?" Crusher asked, nearly stopping in his tracks from surprise and excitement.

"Well, yeah…if you want to…"

"Well, I…I-I'd be honored, Rain!"

"Honored? I'm not the queen or anything," Rain chuckled.

"Well, yeah, I know, but I just…my answer is yes, I'll perform with you," Crusher finally admitted and blushed again.

"Oh, I don't know how to thank you again!" Rain giggled and suddenly gave Crasher a big hug, stopping him in his tracks as a big dopey grin spread on his face.

And while Rain continued to embrace the flustered Crusher, Pickle only stared on with a victorious grin. But before long, Rain finally let go of Crasher, but he was still in a pretty dopey haze.

"Well, we're already over halfway to the stadium, so I can take the cake from here. Thanks again, Crusher! I'll keep you updated on what we're going to sing!" Rain said as she disconnected Crusher's hook and connected her own to the wagon, and she then drove off for the stadium.

…

"Pickle, you were right," Crusher suddenly stated when he got his thoughts back together.

"About what?" Pickle urged, but he had a pretty good idea as to what Crusher was talking about.

"I DO have a crush on Rain…oh, she's just so pretty and nice," Crusher finally admitted, as he drooped in his crushing thoughts for Rain.

"I knew it," Pickle mumbled under his breath.

* * *

By the time Rain arrived back with the cake, she was happy to find Axel Stadium beautifully decorated with blue, white and yellow streamers and star decorations, and the center of the stadium was no longer empty, but instead Darington's favorite stunt track ran along the sides of the lot, but the center was cleared out for a stage surrounded by long and round tables tables, where trucks could sit and Rain perform.

"Wow, you guys, this place looks AMAZING! Thanks so much!" Rain announced in awe as she towed the cake into the center.

"No, thank YOU, Sis! This cake is awesome!" Darington cheered when he drove up to check out the cake, followed by his friends.

"Only the best for my little bro," Rain chuckled while unhooking her tow cable from the wagon, and she suddenly pulled Darington in for a noogie.

"Ooh, cake look good! Zeg want piece! Zeg want piece!" Zeg begged, but he was pushed back by Starla.

"Sorry, buddy, but no cake until the party."

"Aww…"

"Half is chocolate, the other is vanilla…I didn't know what flavor everyone like, so I chose both," Rain added with embarrassment.

"Well, thanks, Rain...I mean, I like both flavors, but…" Blaze tried to reassure, but he found his words failing again from the butterflies in his stomach…which seemed to keep coming every time he saw Rain.

"But what, Blaze?" Rain urged.

"N-nothing…thank you again…"

"N-no problem…"

"Hey, what about the candle?" Darington suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, no! I forgot to pick it up at the bakery!" Rain admitted with shock.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Sis. You've done so much already. I'll go get the candle; you go out and relax, take a look around the city," Darington insisted while touching a reassuring tire on Rain's.

"Thanks, Darington. I need to relax," Rain sighed in relief, and Darington nodded and left for the bakery. But when Rain was about to head out, Blaze didn't want her leave.

"Rain, wait!"

"Yes, Blaze?"

"U-uh…I-I, uh…do you know your way around the city?"

"Well, no, not exactly…"

"Then…why don't I show you around?" Rain was surprised at Blaze's offer; true, she never noticed the way Crusher looked at her, but she was embarrassed to admit that she liked Blaze…a little.

"Well…o-ok…"

With that, the two smiled at each other awkwardly, and they made it worse when they struggled to decide who would go first out the exit, and they bumped each other few times before they finally made their way out.

But as they left, AJ only stared on in confusion. "What's gotten into those two?"

Meanwhile, as Blaze and Rain made their way out through the streets, they drove passed an alley way…where Crusher and Pickle were watching them.

"Wha—bu—she said—she lied to me!" Crusher stammered angrily while watching Blaze drive away with his crush.

"I'm sure she had a good reason?" Pickle guessed.

"No, Pickle, not this time. I'm NOT going to let Blaze win. Rain will be MY girl."

* * *

 **Uh-oh! Blaze, you better be ready, 'cause you got competition.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Pie to the Face

Chapter 3 - Pie to the Face

"So, uh…what's Axel City like? I-it's nice, I presume?" Rain began sheepishly to try and strike up a conversation, as Blaze had just started giving her a tour of the city.

"Oh, yeah! When I first moved here, I knew it would be a place to have fun and make great friends," Blaze happily replied, but Rain looked at him with confusion.

"Wait, you weren't born here?"

"Nope. But I'm happy to call this place my home."

"Aww, that's sweet." Just that statement made Blaze start to blush a bit.

"W-well, yeah, I-I guess it is, but…hopefully…you can make this place your home too?" the red monster truck asked with hope while trying not to look at Rain.

"Well…I-I don't know. I honestly just thought I'd be visiting for Darington's birthday…but to move here?" Rain pondered aloud, only making things more awkward.

"Yeah…guess it was worth a shot," Blaze sighed sadly under his breath.

"Wait…do you…WANT me to stay here?"

"What?! No!"

"Blaze." The said red monster truck immediately froze when he felt when he felt a gentle tire touch his front tire, and his red paint luckily hid his deep blush as he looked at the blue monster truck.

"I think it's sweet that you want me to stay here. You're a really good friend," Rain softly reassured with a smile.

"W-we're friends?" Blaze stuttered.

"Of course. Any friend of Darington's is a friend of mine."

"C-cool, cool…so, uh…let's finally get on with that tour, huh?"

"Sure! Where to first?"

"Well, you've already seen the stunt stadium and the bakery, so let's start somewhere different. And trust me when I say I know the PERFECT place to end the tour."

"Oh? And where is that?"

"It's a surprise."

But unbeknownst to the two trucks as they left, Crusher and Pickle were still secretly following them, and Crusher was getting angrier the more he saw Rain spend her time with Blaze.

"This just isn't fair, Pickle. Just when I think I could finally win, Blaze once again comes along and ruins everything," Crusher babbled angrily.

"Well, Crusher, it may not be fair to you, but I wouldn't advise playing unfair this time," Pickle suggested sheepishly, but Crusher only glared down at him.

"What?!"

"I-I'm saying that i-if you really do want Rain to like you too, ya might not wanna cheat this time, ya know?"

"I don't have ta worry about that because I'm so skilled at cheating, Rain'll NEVER even know I cheated in the first place. I can't possibly fail."

"Ok…but don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

A few hours later, the sun was finally setting to not only end the day, but to also end Blaze's tour for Rain. And since she knew the tour was concluding, Rain was excited to see this surprise location that Blaze had planned for the end.

"Aw, c'mon, can't you just tell me what it is?" Rain begged as Blaze lead her up the side of a mountain just outside the city, and she was getting more and more antsy by the second.

"If I told you what it is, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. But don't worry, it'll be worth the wait," Blaze chuckled.

"It better be."

"It is because we're here." With that, Blaze pointed at the cliff not too far ahead, and Rain followed to where his tire was pointing and immediately sped up to the top. And what she saw made her gasp with surprise. The mountain over looked all of Axel City, as it sparkled beautifully in the radiant setting sun's light.

"Oh, Blaze…it's beautiful," Rain sighed happily.

"Isn't it? I like to come up here a lot at the beginning and end of every day," Blaze added calmly as he joined Rain's side and stared on with her.

"I can see why. I'm glad you saved this place for last."

"Me too."

…

"Hey, um, Blaze? This may sound…a little weird, but…have you ever, um…liked someone?" Rain soon asked while trying not to blush, and she refused to look Blaze in the eyes. Speaking of which, the said red monster truck's eyes went wide with surprise and embarrassment. Blaze started to wonder if he should tell Rain about her crush on her…but he couldn't possibly embarrass himself like that, not right now.

"U-uh, ahem! Y-Yeah, I-I've…liked someone before," Blaze stuttered in response.

"R-r-really? Well…who?"

"Um…what do you mean? I mean, I like all of my friends."

"So…does that mean you like me too?" Rain asked with hope.

"Um, w-well…o-of course I like you," Blaze replied with a sheepish chuckle.

"Really? Well, Blaze…I-." But just when Rain was about to finally admit that she liked him too, she was interrupted when…a random pie was suddenly landed on Blaze's face.

"What the-? Where did this pie come from?" Blaze questioned while wiping the pie off.

"I don't know, but you might want to move," Rain quickly added, and she and Blaze moved out of the way just in time before another pie could hit them.

Blaze squinted down over the cliff to look for the source of the pie throwing, and he soon found what looked like a giant robotic arm that was throwing the pies, as it wasn't very well hidden amongst the trees in the forest below.

"A robotic pie throwing-arm?" Blaze pondered out loud.

"How did that get in the forest? And more importantly, WHO put it there?" Rain added in confusion, but then she noticed some of the pie still smudged on Blaze, "oh, uh, you've still got a little bit of pie on your face, Blaze."

"Where?"

"Here, let me get it." With that, Rain awkwardly began wiping the messy pie from Blaze's face, and Blaze froze when she got so close; though, it wasn't long before Rain was finally done getting the rest of the pie off, and she blushed and chuckled sheepishly when she realized how close she was to his face too.

"Heh-heh…there, all clean," Rain stuttered while backing away a bit.

"Th-thanks," Blaze stammered as the two trucks awkwardly smiled at each other.

"So, um…should we go back now?"

"Y-yeah, good point. Let's go."

The two trucks turned around and drove down the mountain trail, and it was quiet at first. But then Rain smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Blaze."

"Yeah?"

"I like you too."

Meanwhile, the real culprit behind the robotic arm that threw the pies at Blaze and Rain was laughing at how much of a success his plan turned out to be.

"Ha! In your face, Blaze—literally!" Crusher cheered when he saw Blaze and Rain drive away.

"That wasn't very nice, Crusher," Pickle pointed out with disappointment.

"Oh, who cares? I put a stop to their little tour, and it's a good thing too. Rain was starting to have too much fun with Blaze."

"So? Fun is a good thing."

"Not when it takes your girl away, Pickle."

"But Rain isn't technically YOUR girl."

"But she WILL be, Pickle. She WILL be."

"Why did you just repeat yourself?"

"Just to be sure, Pickle. Just to be sure."

* * *

 **Sorry for the shorter chapter, I just didn't know how else to end it. Besides, I think the joke ends it kinda perfectly, don't you agree?**

 **Anyway, until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Getting to Know You Better

Chapter 4 - Getting to Know You Better

Blaze and AJ's home, a combination of a house for AJ on the second floor and a garage for Blaze on the first floor, was nice and quiet one morning while the two best friends and roommates began to awake.

"You want some pancakes, Blaze?" AJ asked while grabbing out a box of pancake mix, after he walked downstairs and into the kitchen, and he was wearing red and white pajamas.

"Sure. Sounds good, AJ," Blaze replied with a yawn and adjusted his red nightcap with fire patterns on his cab.

With that, the kid began to mix the pancake powder, and it wasn't long until he began to fry the batter in a frying pan.

"Hey, Blaze? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"We're pals, right?"

"Oh, yeah! Best pals!"

"And we'll always be best friends…right?"

Blaze soon noticed the worry in AJ's voice, and that's when e became concerned too.

"Of course, AJ. Why would you think otherwise?"

"It's just that…you've been spending a lot of time with Rain…and I guess I'm worried about our friendship…I'm sorry, Blaze. I'm being selfish and jealous," AJ explained with shame.

"No, that's not it, AJ. You just miss me, and I don't blame you. Tell ya what, how about me, you AND Rain all go out for lunch today? That way, you and Rain can get to know each other, and we can ALL be best friends," Blaze suggested with a smile.

"Well…I guess that sounds like a good idea…yeah, sounds fun! I'm in!" AJ declared while smiling back.

* * *

Rain was always an early bird, as she was on her way to the cliff top that Blaze showed her; not only in hopes of seeing a beautiful sunrise…but maybe meeting up with Blaze again too.

But when the blue monster truck took in the lovely morning forest scenery, she failed to notice a large shadow following close behind, dodging behind large trees and bushes to stay out of sight. Though, the mysterious figure was not able to remain stealthy for much longer, when it accidentally stepped on a twig, causing it to snap and alerting Rain of their presence.

"H-hello? B-Blaze, is that you?" Rain called out in fear while whipping around to face the direction she heard the snapping twig, but she still couldn't see anyone.

Eventually, Rain gave up and slowly turned back around to continue on to the cliff top, but as soon as she turned around, she bumped face-first into a very large tire. When she looked up, she saw that the tire belonged to an even bigger monster truck with matted dark brown fur, big and beady eyes, a crooked but gleeful smile, and he was covered with mud from the top of his cab to the bottom of his wheels.

Just the sight of the huge creature made Rain stutter when she was at a loss for words, and she stared into his eyes with terror as she slowly drove backwards.

"Oh, no, no, no! Don't be scared! I'm not going ta hurt-!" the giant mud monster machine quickly began, but he was cut off when poor Rain didn't watch where she was going, and she accidentally slid down a slippery mud hill that had a large mud pit at the bottom, and Rain could only helplessly slid into the messy mud.

"CANNONBALL!" the mud creature suddenly shouted happily when he jumped off from the top of the hill and into the mud pit, just barely missing Rain, and splattering mud all over the place.

"Sorry. I just REALLY love mud. I didn't mean ta scare you, though," the large monster truck gently informed, "my name's Gasquatch."

Rain only looked at Gasquatch for a few awkward moments, taking in everything and trying to calm down, but she soon shook her head and realized she was rudely staring.

"O-oh, um…ahem! Sorry, I-I didn't know. I'm Rain, and it's nice to meet you, Gasquatch," Rain cleared her throat and smiled sincerely at the muddy truck.

"Hiya, Rain! Ya like mud?" Gasquatch asked with hope.

"Well, not always…but I guess I can make an exception for it since I made a new friend," Rain happily replied.

With that, Gasquatch and Rain played in the mud together; they made mud toys, played mud dodge ball, played catch with a mud ball, etc. And all in all, Rain was happy to get to know such a unique truck and become good friends with him too.

* * *

Darington was pretty worried when he woke up to find that his sister was nowhere to be found; he always knew she woke up a few hours before him, but Rain hasn't been in Axle City long, even IF Blaze gave her a tour.

So, the daring monster truck had been spending the rest of his morning searching for his big sister throughout the city.

"Morning, Darington!"

"Oh…morning, Gabby…hey, have you seen Rain anywhere?" Darington asked when he realized he was driving passed Gabby's workshop, and she stepped out to greet him.

"Rain? Sorry, no I haven't. Why, is something wrong?" Gabby questioned with concern.

"No, Rain just likes to get up early in the morning a lot, and I know Blaze gave her a tour, but Rain hasn't exactly been in the city that long."

"Aww, I think it's sweet that you worry for your sister like that, Darington, you're a great brother. But I'll help you look for Rain if you want."

"Oh, would you? That'd be great! Thanks, Gabby."

"Hey, ya'll! What 'cha doin'?" a perky western voice called, as Darington and Gabby turned to find their cowgirl friend Starla was approaching.

"Hey, Starla. We're looking for Rain," Gabby informed.

"You haven't seen her anywhere, have you?" Darington added with hope.

"Sorry, can't say that I have, but I'll help ya look," Starla replied with a sincere smile, "but first, I gotta stop by Stripes' place if that's alright."

"Wait, why are you going ta Stripes' place?" Darington questioned in suspicion.

"I promised ta help 'm rangle up any injured critters for his search and rescue expedition taday."

"Ok…" Gabby and Darington sighed slowly in unison, unable to COMPLEYELY believe Starla.

"Why don't we go with you? Stripes could get some more helping hands, and maybe he's seen Rain," Gabby suggested, and it convinced the two monster trucks.

So, Gabby hopped onto Starla's back for a ride, and the three of them headed drove through the city and out into the jungle to get to Stripes' tree fort of a home.

"Stripes?! Stripes, you home?!" Starla called up to the top of the tree fort, and the others stared up with her. And after moment of waiting, they saw their tiger monster truck friend drive up the railing and smiled down at them.

"Starla, you made it! Oh, hi Darington! Hi, Gabby! What're you guys doing here?" Stripes asked with excitement, as he extended his claws and climbed down very quickly to greet his friends face-to-face.

"Did you come to help me with my injured animal search and rescue expedition too?"

"Actually, could you tell us if you've seen Rain anywhere?" Darington questioned.

"Nope, haven't seen her, but if you help me with the animals, I'll help you look for her after that," Stripes replied with a smile.

"Look for who?"

Everyone turned and gasped when they saw none other than the one and only, blue, female monster truck they've been looking for, as she approached them with mud all over her, but she still wore a big smile.

"Oh, Rain! I was worried sick!" Darington exclaimed with excitement, as he quickly drove up to his big sister and gave her a hug.

"I was only gone for a few hours, Darington; besides, I was with a VERY kind monster truck…even though he REALLY loved mud," Rain chuckled.

"Hey, that kinda sounds like Gasquatch," Gabby pondered aloud, but Rain was surprised with what she heard.

"Wait, you know Gasquatch?"

"Yeah, we all do," Stripes replied.

"We met 'm at the Mud Festival not too long ago," Stella informed.

"You guys have a Mud Festival?" Rain asked with excitement.

"We sure do, every April and May…but speaking of mud, I think you need a bath. C'mon, I'll take you to the monster truck wash," Darington pointed out while grabbing one of Rain's front wheels to lead her back to the city.

"Hold on a sec, Darington. How about this? After I get all cleaned up, I get to know your other friends?" Rain suggested when she stopped Darington in his tracks.

"Well…why not? We'll all go to Pete's Pizza Parlor for lunch, my treat," Darington admitted, and the others quickly agreed with a cheer.

Darington and the others then lead a muddy Rain through the forest and back into the city, where they showed her the monster truck wash and how to work it. It wasn't long before she figured it out, and she was going through and getting perfectly clean.

But as she was slowly going through the truck wash, enjoying the nice feeling of getting cleaned, Blaze, with AJ in the driver's seat, was speeding along through the streets in search of Rain, just on the other side of the truck wash, where Rain would exit.

"I don't know about this anymore, Blaze. We haven't seen Rain anywhere…maybe she doesn't wanna be bothered today," AJ reluctantly suggested.

"No, I don't think that's it…she wouldn't just suddenly disappear. We'll find her," Blaze quickly protested, and he would soon get more than what he bargained for.

Just after Blaze finished his sentence, he was quickly approaching the monster truck wash exit, where Rain suddenly shifted into gear to get out into the fresh hair.

And as if fate suddenly developed a sense of humor for this moment alone, Blaze and Rain accidentally crashed into each other; though, no one got hurt, as Rain merely bumped into Blaze, she skidded to a halt and somehow turned herself around, pushing Blaze a few feet to the side, and the red and blue monster trucks eventually stopped with their sides smooshed together.

…

"Hey, Blaze," Rain jokingly greeted.

"Hello, Rain," Blaze couldn't help but chuckle, as he and Rain soon split up, "we were looking for you."

"You were? Wow, who HASN'T been looking for me today?" Rain laughed sarcastically, earning a little laugh from AJ and Blaze too.

"Anyway, we wanted to know if you wanted to have lunch with us, so that I could get to know you too," AJ eventually informed.

"I think that could work. I was going to go with Gabby, Darington, Stripes and Starla to Pete's Pizza Parlor, but you can come with us," Rain pointed out with a smile.

"Oh, oh, oh! Zeg want to come too! Can Zeg come eat pizza with you too?! Please, please, please!" Zeg shouted while excitedly jumping out from behind a corner, and he kept bouncing around land wagging his tail like a giddy puppy dog.

"Sure, Zeg, you can come too," Rain calmly replied.

And so, Rain, Blaze, AJ and Zeg all went to catch up with the others, and they all headed to Pete's Pizza Parlor, soon ordering lunch shortly after arriving, and they all ate together while talking and getting to know each other better.

And just like when she spent some quality time with Gasquatch, Rain was really happy to spend time getting to know all of Darington's closest friends, and vice versa.

* * *

 **Well, now the problem between AJ and Rain is resolved. And from this point, there's only one or two chapters left, so buckle down!**

 **Also, Merry Late Christmas:P**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Sing if You're in Love

**The following song in this chapter belongs to Roadside Romeo. Please support the official release.**

 **There are going to be multiple characters singing in this chapter, so, just so you don't get confused...**

 **Rain:** _!_

 **Pickle:** _~!~_

 **Crusher: _!_**

 **Blaze:** _!_

* * *

Chapter 5 - Sing if You're in Love

Today was the day. Darington's birthday! And each and everyone one of his friends helped him pass out invitations to invite anyone else to the party, as it was going to be held celebrated later tonight…but not everyone was completely excited.

Poor Rain STILL hadn't come up with a song for her and Crusher to perform during her brother's party. So, she secretly snuck away to the Monster Dome, where she jumped up onto the stage some of the Monster Dome employees built for the occasion, and she was pacing back and forth to figure out what to sing.

But there was one truck in particular she forgot to tell that she needed some alone time, as he was strolling alongside Pickle for the afternoon, and accidentally he accidentally drove in on Rain.

"Rain? What're you doing here all by yourself?" Crusher questioned as he drove up onto the stage, Pickle following close behind.

"It's bad, Crusher, REALLY bad! I still haven't picked the song for us to perform, and the party's tonight! What am I gonna do?!" Rain explained hysterically.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down! Look, if it makes you feel any better…I kinda already have a song picked out," Crusher quickly reassured, but a faint blush appeared on his fender at the last part.

"Really? What is it?" With that, Crusher felt too embarrassed to say it out loud, so he leaned in close to Rain and whispered it to her. And when Rain heard what Crusher suggested, her eyes went wide as she developed a slight blush on her fender too.

"Y-you…y-you want to sing THAT song?" Rain stammered sheepishly.

"Well, yeah…but only if it's ok with you!" Crusher replied as his blush grew redder.

Rain suddenly realized something: Crusher likes her…like, LIKES her-likes her…but she only had feelings for Blaze. How was she going to fix this without hurting anyone?

"I-I'll think about it…until then, could you leave me alone? I promise, I'll let you know what we'll do before the party starts, ok?" Rain asked sincerely.

"Um…" Crusher was somewhat as a loss for words.

"Sounds great! We'll see ya later, Rain!" Pickle suddenly cut in with excitement, saving Crusher and allowing him to instantly drive away from the awkward tension; though, even after Pickle and Crusher left, she still had a huge problem on her conscious. Seriously, what was she going to do about this love triangle?

But then, it hit her. A(hopefully)perfect idea to fix all of this.

* * *

Blaze was driving around the south eastern parts of Axle City, handing out invitations to Darington's birthday party to anyone who accepted them, alongside AJ.

"Hey, thanks! I'll make sure ta come!" a passerby truck cheered as he swiftly grabbed and read the invitation right out of Blaze's grasp, driving off with it.

"You're welcome!" AJ and Blaze called back in unison.

"Say, what're you gonna do at Darington's birthday party, AJ?" Blaze soon asked out of curiosity.

"I dunno…probably socialize, eat some cake, and dance with our friends," AJ pondered aloud, "what about you?"

"Hmm…I guess the same thing as you," Blaze replied with a smirk, making both himself and AJ chuckle.

"Blaze?!" The said red monster truck and AJ both turned their heads when they heard the familiar voice of Rain, as she rounded a corner and quickly approached them.

"Oh, there you are! Mind if I talk to you for a moment, Blaze?" Rain huffed after the long drive.

"Uh, sure…you keep going, AJ, I'll catch up soon," Blaze replied, and directed AJ to keep walking down the sidewalk to hand out the rest of his invitations.

"What do you need?" Blaze questioned as he placed his own pile of invitations down.

"Um…you know how you said you…that you liked me?" Rain asked slowly, a dark red blush quickly growing on nearly all over her face. And Blaze was soon turning redder than usual too with the out-of-the-blue question.

"U-uh…y-yeah, I like you. W-why do you ask?" Blaze stammered madly, gulping down his fear of where this was going.

"Well, if you really DO 'like' me…then…then I want you to sing with me," Rain replied slowly when she finally gathered enough courage to state the last part out loud.

"S…sing with you?" Blaze questioned with wide eyes and shock in his tone.

"Yes. It's a special song, and it needs a duet…but you can only sing it if you mean it. So, when you feel the time is right, I want you to get up on that stage with me."

"And…a-and if I don't?"

"Then I'll know how you really feel."

Rain then turned and drove away without another word, soon disappearing around a corner, and leaving blaze to think deeply about her request. When she said 'like', did she actually mean 'LIKE'…and if so, does that mean she likes him too?

And Rain was right. What Blaze chooses to do really would tell her how he feels about her, and he REALLY cares about her…but will he be brave enough to show her that?

A decision would have to be made soon.

* * *

Later that night, the sky was clear with black and dark blue colors, glittering stars, and bright white crescent moon, and crickets were chirping softly. But hardly anyone was out enjoying the peaceful night; instead, nearly every close friend, acquaintance of Darington, and friend or acquaintance of those acquaintances or friends, were all gathered in the Monster Dome to come celebrate Darington's birthday.

Even Blaze was brave enough to show up…though, he tried to avoid the stage and stay hidden within the crowd. But Blaze wasn't the only one that showed up for Rain's sake, as Crusher and Pickle were perched high up on the tallest ramp while fitting themselves with wireless microphones.

"Y'know, you never did tell me what you and Rain were gonna sing," Pickle informed with curiosity, finally adjusting his headset perfectly.

"Oh, you'll see, Pickle. It's the perfect song ta get Rain ta fall in love with me. During the song's last verse, I'll speed down this ramp and land on the stage, where I'll dance with Rain and hold her close," Crusher explained with confidence, fiddling with his own headset. And he held his head high when he thought he finally got his wireless mic on right…only for it to ruin the moment when it suddenly slipped off.

So, being the resourceful and helpful little guy he is, Pickle stifled a laugh and effortlessly adjusted Crusher's mic for him.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" Darington announced into his own wireless microphone he held in his wheels, as he grabbed everyone's attention by getting up on stage and stood in the spotlight, "I would like to thank you all for coming to my birthday party, it REALLY makes me feel special! But before we REALLY get this party started, we have a very special performance from my big sister, Rain! Give it up for her! WHOO!"

With that, Darington drove off the stage with the loud sounds of roaring cheers and thunderous clapping, as the band instantly stroke up afterwards, and the song "Chhoo Le Na" from Roadside Romeo began to play.

Everyone went quieter soon, as they saw a shadowy figure immediately drive up onto the stage, and they all figured it was Rain when she stepped into the spotlight.

Rain smiled brightly at the crowd, as she was wearing her own microphone headset as well. And she then took in a big breath to bring out her best singing voice.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le naaaaa! Look in my eyes! Chhoo le na!"_ Everyone was amazed with Rain's beautiful singing, but the trucks who couldn't even look away from her was Crusher and Blaze, as they kept getting lost in her eyes when they discovered a new sense of beauty about her.

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_ Pickle san happily at the top of his lungs.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_

 _"_ _Chhoo le naaaa!"_

 _"_ _Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _Touch my heart, just this one time! Chhoo le!"_ Rain sang gently, and Blaze swore he saw her look directly at him, making his heart flutter.

 _"_ _Say those words, just this one time! Chhoo leeeeeee!"_

 ** _"_** ** _O Rain, O Rain!"_** Crusher sang out, as it was his verse to sing.

 _"_ _~O Rain, O Rain~!"_ Pickle backed up.

 ** _"_** ** _O Rain, O Rain!"_**

 _"_ _~O Rain, O Rain!~"_

 ** _"_** ** _I'm the truck of your dreams, baaabyy! O Rain, O Raaaaiiin!"_**

Rain tried her best to avoid eye contact with Crusher, as she could practically feel the love-struck way he was looking down at her. And how was Blaze feeling about this? Well, for one thing, he finally realized that Crusher really has his eyes set on Rain too, which could be a problem. But that wasn't the only thing Blaze realized; he also figured out what he had to do to prove himself to Rain…but did he have the strength to?

But eventually, Rain found her posture and voice, and she began singing again.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le naaaa! Look in my eyes! Chhoo le na!"_

 ** _"_** ** _Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_** Crusher began taking Pickle's place.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 ** _"_** ** _Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_**

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 ** _"_** ** _Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_**

 _"_ _Chhoo le naaaa!"_

 ** _"_** ** _Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_**

The band once again stroke up for many solos, ones with guitars pianos and even maracas, which gave everyone some time to think. Rain was worried Blaze would never come up on stage, Crusher was preparing himself to go down the ramp and land perfectly on the stage next to Rain, and Blaze was considering his choices: either leave or sing.

But Blaze knew he couldn't let Rain down, and he CERTIANLY couldn't let Crusher take her…and because he really cared about her, he was only left with one obvious decision. The red monster truck then pushed through the crowd as fast as he could, trying to get to the closest ramp while also snatching Darington's mic.

"Hey! Where are you going with my mic?!" Darington called over the cheering and music, but Blaze never stopped or turned around. And soon, Rain began to sing again.

 _"_ _They're smiling for yooouuu! Why won't you smile tooo? They're sparkling for yooouuu! Touch and turn them to stars! Bring them to Earth, just this one time! Come ooooonnn!"_

As Rain continued to sing, she, or anyone else for that matter, failed to notice Blaze climbing up to the top on the other side of the stage, facing opposite to Crusher.

 _"_ _They're closer now, just this one time! Come ooooooonnnn!"_

It was now or never. Both Blaze and Crusher moved slightly forward to go sown their ramp, but Crusher stopped himself just in time when he finally noticed Blaze, as the said red monster truck didn't stop.

In seconds, Blaze was flying through the air, catching the attention of another spotlight, and he landed with a loud THUD, right next to Rain on the stage. And then, he began to sing.

 _"_ _O Rain, O Rain! O Rain, O Rain! I'm the truck of your dreeeeeaaaams! O Rain, O Rain!"_

Rain couldn't believe it; she stared at Blaze with wide eyes while shaking her head, as she soon found her voice again to continue the song.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Look in my eyes!"_

Crusher was SO shocked that he literally couldn't keep his ground anymore, as he suddenly slipped and ended up rolling down the ramp and let gravity do the work. This resulted in the dark blue monster truck getting thrown into the air like a rag doll, as he screamed in terror while flying over the stage. But everyone either didn't notice him, or just didn't care.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_ Pickle continued to sing, even after Crusher slipped and fell.

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_

 _"_ _Chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!~"_

 _"_ _Chhoo le na, chhoo le na!"_

 _"_ _~Chhoo le, chhoo le na! Chhoo le, chhoo le na!"_

The song then ended with a loud THUMP of a bass drum, as Blaze and Rain gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. And the crowd was silent for a moment, as they just watched the two monster trucks.

But it wasn't long until they were all convinced it was just part of the show, and they liked what they saw, so they cheered loudly even more; even Darington couldn't help but smirk at them, for he sensed there was something between Blaze and his sister all along.

But Crusher was NOT amused. He groaned in pain, as he had landed quite painfully on the popcorn stand, completely destroying it during impact. And when he saw Blaze and Rain up on the stage together, he gasped with shock.

"What…no, no! This was supposed ta be MY big chance ta win Rain's heart! Mine, and mine alone!" Crusher cried while beginning to sob like a child…but then Crusher put his wheel down. No longer was he going to take any defeat like a baby—then again, he wouldn't have to admit defeat anyway, because he swore he was NOT going to let Blaze win this time.

"I'll get you for this, Blaze," Crusher growled, scowling up at the said red monster truck.

* * *

 **Again, the song that was featured in this chapter was in Roadside Romeo, which belongs to Disney World Cinema, Walt Disney Pictures, and Yash Raj Films. And Blaze and the Monster Machines belongs to Nerd Corps Entertainment, DHX Media, and Jeff Borkin and Ellen Martin. Please, support the official release.**

 **Basically, I don't own anything except my OCs.**

 **Also, WHOO! We gettin' some drama up in here! Crusher obviously isn't happy with Blaze, so what's he planning next? It can't be anything good because, hey, it's Crusher.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Race for Your Love

Chapter 6 - Race for Your Love

After the events of Darington's birthday party, Blaze and Rain remained rather close, as they would visit each other frequently for the next couple days, And though it was quiet obvious at the party, the two were still too shy to admit that they liked each other out loud.

And when they went out, they didn't like to call it a 'date'; they didn't even go out alone together, as they would always at least bring AJ along or go hang out with their other friends.

But one morning, when Blaze heard a knock at the door, he didn't answer it to find Rain again as he had expected; instead a rather different and surprising guest was at the door.

"Hello, Blaze."

"Crusher? What are you doing here?" Blaze asked with surprise, and it was true that he was now looking at the said dark blue truck.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you about some VERY important matters," Crusher replied calmly, eventually making Blaze exit from his garage and close the door behind him.

"Ok…what is it?" Blaze asked slowly with concern.

"Listen, you ingrate, I don't like the way you keep attracting Rain," Crusher suddenly went from calm to terrifying, lowering his voice to a deep, threatening growl. And Blaze was taken by complete surprise.

"W-what?"

"You heard what I said. You always beat me at everything—but not this time. I'm NOT letting you take Rain from me."

"But i-it's not really your choice, Crusher. Who Rain falls in love with is not yours or MY decision."

"Oh, yeah? Well, if you care about Rain that much, then you'll defend your rights over your relationship with her."

"What are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at is a bet. Whoever wins, gets to keep Rain all to himself? Of course, you don't HAVE to accept my challenge if you really don't love Rain-."

"Now, hold on just a minute, Crusher!" Blaze snapped and stopped Crusher in his tracks when he tried to turn and leave, "I DO love Rain!"

This was EXACTLY what Crusher wanted, to bait Blaze.

"Well, that's good. You wouldn't mind accepting my challenge then, right?" Crusher asked with an evil grin, awaiting Blaze's response.

But Blaze didn't know what to say. He didn't want to make Rain feel like some trophy to win, and he also didn't want Crusher to just take Rain either. If Crusher beat him, it could mean the worst for both him and Rain.

"What's your challenge?" Blaze asked reluctantly.

"Today, at high noon, we meet at Gabby's shop. We race all around the outskirts of Axle City, and then whoever arrives back at Gabby's shop first is the winner," Crusher firmly explained.

"Ok, I'll race you—but if I beat you, you have to promise to leave Rain and alone. Deal?" Blaze sighed in defeat.

"Deal," Crusher chuckled darkly, and he finally turned and left, still wearing an evil smile on his face.

And as much as Blaze hated to admit it, but Crusher was right; he had to defend his love for Rain.

* * *

"You're going to what?!" AJ and Gabby weren't amused with what they heard Blaze say, after he took AJ to Gabby's shop.

"You have to promise not to tell Rain. Please!" Blaze begged with worry.

"I think she has the right to know," Gabby pointed out.

"And this could be dangerous. You should just ignore Crusher," AJ added firmly.

"But if I do, I won't be able to protect my feelings for Rain—and apparently, this is how Crusher wants us to prove who Rain deserves more," Blaze protested.

"But Blaze-!" AJ tried to argue, only for Gabby to grab his shoulder and cut him off.

"I think you're stupid for doing this, Blaze—but I also think you're very heroic. If you really want to fight for Rain, then we won't stop you. Right, AJ?" Gabby explained softly yet firmly.

"Yeah…ok," AJ sighed in defeat.

"And you're secret's safe with us too—just promise you'll be careful," Gabby instructed.

"Thanks, guys. And I will; I've raced other cars and trucks HUNDREDS of times, and not a single bad thing ever happened. I'll be ok," Blaze reassured while getting slightly cocky.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Blaze," Crusher chuckled as he suddenly entered the shop, Pickle close behind him.

"Yeah, it's Crusher's thing ta get too cocky," Pickle added with a smirk, making the said dark blue monster truck glare at him.

"No—I mean, we'll see how everything turns out when the race is over," Crusher growled, but then he smiled evilly at Blaze, "better be carefully out there, Blaze, 'cause I ain't gonna play nice this time."

"But you never play nice," Pickle pointed out.

"Pickle, shut it before I nail it shut." Pickle immediately closed his mouth after Crusher's threat, and he turned and exited the shop in a huff to wait outside.

"Don't worry, Blaze. We'll beat him together, like we always do," AJ reassured.

"AJ…you can't come with me," Blaze sighed sadly.

"What?" AJ asked with shock.

"This is MY race to win, not yours. If I'm going to prove myself for Rain, I'll have to do it alone. Besides, I think Crusher means it when he says he's not going to race fairly—and I mean more than usual—and I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

AJ could only stare at his best friend with wide eyes for a moment before sighing in defeat and sulking his head; though, Gabby tried to make him feel better by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Blaze, it's almost noon! Get out here, or you'll forfeit!" Crusher called impatiently, and Blaze hastily made his way and parked right next to Crusher, Pickle, AJ, and Gabby all standing out of the way and watching.

"You remember the rules: race around Axle City, and the first one back here is the winner," Crusher instructed firmly.

"Whatever you say, Crusher," Blaze stated dryly, making Crusher scoff. But soon, the two rivals started their engines, revving them loudly.

"Hey, Blaze, we came ta-WHOA!" Darington asked when he noticed Blaze, but when he tried to approach him, the said red monster truck and Crusher finally sped off to begin their race, barely missing Darington if he hadn't made himself thinner and stayed just between them.

"What's the rush?" Darington questioned once he calmed down after nearly getting hit.

"Crusher challenged Blaze to a race—to see who would win Rain's heart," Gabby reluctantly informed.

"What?!"

Once again, everyone turned their heads in shock when they heard none other than Rain's voice, as she had just arrived to her what Gabby said…and she didn't like what she heard.

"Oops…" Gabby whimpered.

* * *

 **Sorry that this chapter is a bit short.**

 **Anyway, things are getting interesting, right? Blaze and Crusher are going head to head to see who gets Rain. Who will win? We shall find out in the next and final chapter.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Apologies and Kisses

Chapter 7 - Apologies and Kisses

Blaze was able to keep himself in first place for the longest time, as he and Crusher sped through the streets of the city to get outside into the forest ranges.

And Crusher wasn't usually very athletic, as he kept running into rocks and bushes or kept landing flat on his stomach when he couldn't stick the landing after a jump in the dirt path.

But Crusher was hopeful when they were soon coming up to more clear terrain; on the other side of the forest was a chain of snowy and icy mountains, certainly with less trees and other forest debris for Crusher to run into.

"Give it up, Blaze! Rain is MINE!" Crusher laughed manically when he suddenly bumped Blaze harshly to get in front of him.

"Not if I can help it, Crusher!" Blaze shouted back boastfully, and suddenly activated his Blazing Speed to zip passed the dark blue monster truck, much to Crusher's dismay.

But he wasn't going to let him get too far ahead, as he saw a very helpful part of the race coming up fast. Crossing over a large and frozen lake was a large, wooden arch bridge, but it was so old and rickety, that all Crusher had to do was get back in front of Blaze, and he would beat him for sure.

"See if you can blaze passed this," Crusher mocked quietly with dark laughter, as his light blue paint design started to glow brightly, and the small metal packs on his sides suddenly opened to build something.

The small bits of metal soon turned into a giant, robotic, fire-breathing dragon, as it roared viciously and flew through the air with its giant, metal wings.

"As soon as I get passed Blaze, torch that bridge!" Crusher instructed the dragon, and it hissed at him in response. Crusher assumed that that meant it understood what it was supposed to do…but he would soon learn the hard way that building a robotic fire-breathing dragon is NOT a good idea.

The bridge was just wide enough for two monster trucks like Blaze and Crusher to cross at the same time, but Crusher made it difficult as he continued to push Blaze to the side, nearly pushing him off the bridge.

"Crusher, stop! I'm about to fall!" Blaze begged when Crusher hit him harder than last time, and he just barely managed to keep his balance.

"Exactly! I warned you, Blaze, and now you're gonna pay the price!" Crusher boomed and attempted to speed passed Blaze, but that was when his robotic fire-breathing dragon plan finally backfired.

Just when Crusher finally got in front of Blaze, his dragon suddenly swooped in and set the bridge on fire…only, it not only created large flames behind Blaze, but also in front of Crusher. And after its job was done, the robotic dragon flew off into the sky with a shrill roar, leaving Crusher and Blaze trapped in the middle of the arch bridge.

"AAAHH! WE'RE TRAPPED, WE'RE TRAPPED, WE'RE TRAPPED! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIEEEE!" Crusher shouted hysterically.

"No, we're not! Get behind me!" Blaze demanded firmly and pushed Crusher behind him to protect him; he then used his own engineering skills to turn himself into a Fire Truck Monster Machine, a vehicle he has been before when he helped Axle City's fire department many times before.

With the new appendage of a fire hose, Blaze stretched it out and squirted powerful jets of water at the fires, and he knew he had to hurry before the fires destroyed the bridge's brittle structure and cause it to collapse…but it was too late.

Just when the fires seemed to die down enough to safely cross any further, the areas where the fires were began to break apart, going from little bits to large chunks of old wood falling onto the icy lake many yards below.

"We gotta go NOW!" Blaze instructed while activating his Blazing Speed, as they both needed to hurry and get to safety before their part of the bridge collapsed. The area behind them suddenly gave out again, creating a gap that would be impossible to jump, so going back was no longer an option.

And luck seemed to run out for Crusher when the part of the bridge he was standing on suddenly gave out from under his weight too, but he managed to save himself from falling into the frigid lake below by quickly grabbing the edge of the braking bridge.

"BLAZE! BLAZE, HELP!" Crusher begged while trying to keep from slipping, but it wasn't that easy with giant tires. And Blaze was panicking inside; he could either leave Crusher behind to save himself, or he could risk his own life to save Crusher…but it wasn't a difficult choice. Blaze's big heart would never allow him to leave anyone behind, not even jerks like Crusher.

"I gotcha," Blaze grunted as he extended his tow cable and grabbed one of his front shocks, but Crusher was heavier than anything he's ever had to pull, so it wasn't easy to pull him back up to safety.

But with all the strength in his entire body and all the will in his heart, Blaze slowly but surely pulled Crusher back up to the little bit of bridge they had remaining.

"B-Blaze…you…y-you…saved my life," Crusher stammered with bewilderment.

"Don't thank me yet. We still need to get off this bridge, and fast," Blaze stated firmly.

"Right," Crusher quickly agreed.

"BLAZE! CRUSHER!" The two said monster trucks turned around to find Rain, carrying Gabby, and Darington, carrying AJ, quickly approaching from behind. The one who called their names was Rain, as she was more than relieved to see that they were both still ok, but she was also terrified to realized what happened to the bridge and that they're stuck in the middle.

"Are you boys crazy?! I'm not worth either of you getting hurt!" Rain scolded.

"Maybe we are crazy—but HE was the crazier one! HE was willing to fight for you, Rain…when I clearly didn't deserve you," Crusher replied while pointing and smirking at Blaze.

Suddenly, the small part of what remained of the middle of the bridge began to topple and shake, no longer able to hold both Crusher and Blaze.

"I can't take it anymore!" Crusher shrieked and suddenly revved up his engine to top speed, and he jumped the smaller gap to the other side since the other gap was too large for any of them to jump. And luckily, the large, dark blue truck was able to make it to the other side, laughing hysterically that he was still alive.

But then the horror occurred.

Just when Crusher jumped, the middle part finally collapsed, and Blaze was still on it…but he wasn't able to jump in time. He fell towards the frozen lake below.

"BLAZE!" everyone cried at the top of their lungs, all except Crusher, who didn't know what to think or say.

Before they knew it, poor Blaze fell flat on the ice, and the impact was so hard, it instantly knocked him unconscious. And matters quickly became much worse when the ice around him started to crack rapidly; he was running out of time.

But the others could do nothing, as the larger gap prevented them from getting any closer to Blaze…unlike Crusher, whose gap didn't create such a great distance between him and the unconscious red monster truck.

But no one had much more time to think when the ice finally gave way, and Blaze immediately sunk and disappeared into the frigid water below. And Rain was already on the verge of tears when she saw this, fearing Blaze wouldn't make it out alive.

"We gotta get him outta there! If he doesn't get out of the water soon, his engine could fill with water, and it'll NEVER start again! He won't wake up after that!" Gabby informed with worry.

"Well, how will we do that?! We can't possibly reach him without endangering our own lives!" Darington pointed out.

"That's not true!" Crusher suddenly called, " _I_ can reach him, and I can save him!"

With that, Crusher's tow cable suddenly shot out, and it fell into the hole in the ice with a splash. But it wasn't easy for Crusher to find Blaze in the nearly pitch black water, so they all waited at the edge of the bridge as the suspension nearly grew unbearable.

"C'mon, Blaze…c'mon…" Crusher growled, even though he knew it wouldn't help. But Lady Luck seemed to smiled down on him after he said that, because he suddenly felt his hook catch something, and with little to nothing inhabiting the freezing water, it could only be Blaze. Sure felt heavy enough to be him, as Crusher grunted and used all of his strength to pull the heavy object.

And soon enough, a large, bright red image could be seen coming closer to the surface. And when Crusher pulled it out of the water, it was revealed that he managed to hook Blaze's driver wheel. But as he pulled the red monster truck out of the water, he was completely limp, he was dripping with water, and he wasn't moving at all.

* * *

Blaze felt a throbbing pain in his engine, as he could see nothing but darkness for the longest time. But he soon blinked his eyes open meekly while groaning in pain of coming back to consciousness.

"W-what…happened…?" Blaze asked meekly.

"He's awake! Everyone, come see! HE'S AWAKE!" Blaze thought he heard the excited voice of Gabby, as he looked around and slowly processed the fact that he was in Gabby's shop.

He then turned towards one of the garage's entrances, and he saw the rest of his friends quickly drive inside, crowding him and cheering that he woke up. And AJ was the first one to run him and give him a great big hug.

"Oh, Blaze, I thought I lost you!" AJ chuckled hysterically.

"Are you kidding? I'm not goin' anywhere," Blaze joked with a smirk…but then he noticed someone was missing, "hey…where's Rain?"

The others immediately went quiet at that, as their smiles soon turned to frowns, and no one answered him.

"She's not here," Crusher calmly replied, as he suddenly drove into the workshop, "she couldn't stand to see you like this because she thought it was her fault—but it was mine—I'm sorry, Blaze."

The fact that Crusher said sorry, let alone admitted something was his fault, threw everyone off guard, as they stared at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm getting' all sappy. But listen, YOU need to apologize too—to Rain. She didn't think you'd make it," Crusher brushed off the others' expressions, but then looked at Blaze firmly.

"But no one knows where she went," Darington reluctantly pointed out, but then Blaze thought of something.

"I think I may know."

* * *

Rain was standing alone at the special cliff top Blaze showed her, as she couldn't think of any other place to retreat to after what happened. She didn't whether to keep hope or lose it all when the thought of Blaze came up in her mind.

She didn't want any of this to happen; she never wanted anyone to get hurt on her account…she couldn't help but feel that it was all her fault.

Not even the lovely sight of the clear and starry night sky could calm her down enough, as she had been waiting on that cliff top alone all day since Crusher rescued Blaze from the lake and pulled him to Gabby's shop, and Gabby did all she could to fix him.

"Rain?" The said blue female monster truck gasped, as she quickly wiped tears from her brown eyes; she then turned around to surprisingly find her younger brother standing behind her.

"Are you ok?" Darington asked gently.

"I-I don't know…how's Blaze?" Rain questioned with a sniffle and swallowed down her sorrow.

"Last time I checked—alive." After Darington's reply, he moved out of the way, to let none other than Blaze slowly and meekly approach Rain, who was on the verge of tears again—happy tears.

She immediately sobbed tears of joy, and sped up to Blaze to embrace him, and he gently embraced her back. The others were close behind Blaze, as they all watched the two with sweet smiles; even Crusher and Pickle joined them in watching the sappy moment.

"Blaze, I'm SO sorry! I didn't want this to happen! I don't mean that much-!" Rain began hysterically, but Blaze soon cut her off.

"Hey, don't EVER tell yourself that. I raced Crusher because you ARE worth that, and much more, to me," Blaze protested firmly, but still wore a sincere smile.

"He's not kiddin'. For a nice guy, he was REALLY willing to turn to drastic measures to win your heart," Crusher added with a chuckle.

"R-really? Does that mean…?" Rain asked with a smile, but she couldn't find the words when Blaze gently wiped her tears away.

"Yes—I love you, Rain," Blaze confirmed.

"Well, I…" Rain began as she had to swallow another bunch of tears of joy and excitement down, "I love you too, Blaze."

With that, Blaze and Rain finally expressed their true feelings by sharing a passionate kiss, everyone cheered for them both.

"Oh, I'm so happy, I could kiss you!" Stripes suddenly burst out while smiling brightly at Starla, but everyone then went quiet and stared at him, ruining the moment.

"Um…I-I mean…" Stripes tried to save the moment, but Starla suddenly smirked and gave him a little kiss on his fender, making his blush deep red.

The cheering started back up again; Pickle even started to cry tears of joy himself.

"Aaawwwww, isn't that just adorable?!" Pickle cried and pulled out a tissue to blow his nose.

"Yeah…I gotta admit, I'm not so happy that I didn't win again—but I'll let it slide because I made others much happier," Crusher sighed in defeat with a little smile, and he then turned and slowly drove away.

"Hey, were ya goin'?" Pickle questioned as he quickly followed Crusher.

"Home so that I can be alone…again," Crusher replied grimly.

"That's not true. You'll always have me, and besides, it's possible for EVERYONE to find love. Even you, Crusher," Pickle reassured happily.

"Yeah, that'll be the day," Crusher scoffed.

The End

* * *

 **Nyaaaawwww!**

 **I don't know why, but for some reason, my writing always gets more dramatic in later chapters. Because I know, for a fact, that the first few chapters weren't a sappy or dramatic as the last ones. I'm not the only one that noticed that, right?**

 **Anyway, that's the end of this love story, and I hope you guys liked it!**

 **By the way, keep your eyes open, because there will be a sequel coming up soon! Oh, and yes, I ship Starla and Stripes.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


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